Stanley Henderson will slip on his cap and gown next month for one last round of commencement activities as University of Michigan-Dearborn’s vice chancellor for enrollment management and student life (EMSL).
Chances are he’ll greet the audience with a hearty “Good morning.” And then he’ll probably repeat a now-familiar phrase: We are not an institution of higher education; we are a community of higher education.
It’s a phrase he uses often to describe the campus’ culture—a culture he has helped reinforce over the past decade.
“This sense of community has come about in part because of Stan’s own genuine engagements with our students, faculty and staff. Stan is warm and welcoming, and through his efforts, he has deepened the norms of student-centered policies across campus,” said UM-Dearborn Chancellor Daniel Little.
That sense of community is just one part of the legacy Henderson will leave behind when he retires next year. He recently announced plans to step down as vice chancellor January 13 and retire from the University May 1.
Henderson came to UM-Dearborn in 2005 and was a driving force in securing The Union at Dearborn housing option for students. The privately owned complex opened in 2013 and ushered in a new era of student life on campus, one strengthened by a growing number of student organizations, community engagement projects and athletics programs.
Henderson developed the university’s first comprehensive strategic enrollment plan and worked with EMSL staff to increase UM-Dearborn’s freshman class by 39 percent in the last decade. He also led efforts to revise the university’s scholarship program.
“I feel a deep debt of gratitude to Stan for his guidance and friendship and his many contributions to UM-Dearborn,” Little said. “His legacy in enrollment management and student life will always be a part of this campus.”
UM-Dearborn was Henderson’s final stop in a long career in higher education. After getting hooked on higher ed as an orientation leader at Michigan State University, he built his career at several universities across the Midwest: Wichita State University, Western Michigan University, University of Cincinnati and University of Illinois.
But, he says, there was something special about UM-Dearborn.
“The reality is that this is where I was meant to be,” he said. “This was the crowning moment because of my ability to be involved with making change and, most particularly, the wonderful experience with our students.”
Tina Nelson is one of those students. Nelson is a UM-Dearborn Difference Maker working toward a degree in communications. She says Henderson has been a trusted ally in her mission to balance life as a student, full-time employee, mother and grandmother.
“I learned so much from Vice Chancellor Henderson as he patiently listened to many of my rants about balancing life,” she said. “He gave me hope and always knew what to say in true honesty.”
The admiration is mutual, Henderson says.
“The students keep me happy; they keep me young. They have a freshness and an engagement that inspires,” he said. “You can’t help but have an outlook that’s positive and affirming when you’re working with these students.”
Earlier this year, the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) awarded Henderson the Lifetime Achievement Award at the organization’s annual conference. And UM-Dearborn will honor him during a retirement reception this Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. at The Union at Dearborn.
